Wednesday, August 19, 2009

I mentioned a while ago that I was donating my jams to an auction for a girl who had her eye removed. My co-worker (the girls grandmother) said that the auction went well. I don't know the total amount that the auction brought in, but she said that my jams brought in about $100, so I am glad that I did it.

Now on with the topic of pears.

Pears are one of my favorite fruits, so it is exciting when the are ready to be picked. I think they taste best straight off from the tree, but when I don't have that, I still like my home canned ones better than store bought. I also like pear butter on my toast in the morning, so I will have to write a post about pear butter. For now, I am just writing about canning pears in syrup.

Once again, soak your fruit in Fruit Fresh as you peel it so that it doesn't turn brown.

I give instructions for light syrup, but you can use a heavier syrup (more sugar) if you want. For a heavy syrup use equal parts water and sugar. For medium syrup use 2 1/4 cups sugar and 5 1/4 cups water.

Combine the water, and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Working in small batches, add some of the fruit and cook till fruit is heated through (about 5 minutes). Use a slotted spoon to fill the canning jars with fruit, and then ladle hot syrup over fruit. Leave 1/2 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a water bath. Process pints for 20 minutes or quarts for 25 minutes.

2 comments:

My Grammy has a pear tree on one of their farming fields. Last year, she canned a lot of pears. This year the late frost took the hope of any fruit. (It also affected our peach tree.) She also makes pear butter. We like it in homemade yogurt! I like home canned ones best, too.

Thank you for posting about the money raised with your jams. I think that amount was well worth it for the little girl.

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Check out Iowa State University's Extension Office advice about container vegetable gardening. There are several other useful sites about growing vegetables in pots. This is just one spot to get you started.